Nanluogu Xiang, No. 95 Courtyard.
This was a three-section courtyard, housing over a dozen families, a total of dozens of people.
To cooperate with the street committee's work, and for defense against enemy agents, as well as for resolving disputes, the courtyard elected three elders in charge.
The front courtyard was overseen by the Third Elder, Yan Bu Gui, a teacher at the Red Star Elementary School, a cunning scholar who was fond of calculating.
The middle courtyard was overseen by the First Elder, Yi Zhong Hai, a fitter at the Third Rolling Mill, currently a Level 5 fitter, holding a considerable position in the factory.
The back courtyard was overseen by the Second Elder, Liu Hai Zhong, a Level 4 blacksmith at the factory, a man obsessed with officialdom.
In Yi's house, the First Aunt's belongings were all packed, numerous large and small bags.
This room was half hers, but Yi Zhong Hai had paid the full amount upfront, and the First Aunt had relinquished her ownership of half the house.
In truth, they had already divorced, and it felt uncomfortable for the First Aunt to continue living under the same roof with Yi Zhong Hai.
Currently, there were no empty rooms in the courtyard.
In this era, housing in the capital city was tight, with many families crammed into small rooms.
As a result, there were hardly any empty rooms in the entire Nanluogu Xiang.
However, money could still rent a room.
Now, the First Aunt had some money and could rent a place outside.
But the Deaf Old Lady asked the First Aunt to stay with her and her child for the time being.
After some thought, the First Aunt agreed to stay at the Old Lady's place temporarily.
Carrying her large and small bags, the First Aunt, no, she wasn't the First Aunt anymore, she was Zheng Da Ma, arrived at the Old Lady's house in the back courtyard.
In the entire courtyard, if you were talking about the largest room, it was the main room of Sha Zhu's house, but the largest room in the back courtyard was the Old Lady's room.
Besides being spacious, the Old Lady's room had excellent lighting.
There were relatively few people in the courtyard at this time, as the children were at school and the adults were at work.
The Old Lady sat in front of her house, basking in the sun. Inside, Zheng Da Ma was feeding Zheng Ai Min some rice porridge.
Qin Huairu, however, came to the back courtyard carrying Bang Geng.
Bang Geng couldn't finish his meal, so Qin Huairu came to share some with Zheng Ai Min.
…
Inside and outside the courtyard, many people were discussing.
In this era, any divorce would inevitably lead to gossip behind people's backs.
“Yi Zhong Hai and his wife have separated.”
“Why did they suddenly divorce?”
“Apparently, Yi Zhong Hai's wife found an abandoned baby and wanted to raise it, but Yi Zhong Hai didn't agree, and they had a fight, leading to their divorce.”
“I think it's better this way. Yi Zhong Hai has good conditions. Although he's a bit older, it shouldn't be difficult to find a younger woman. He could marry someone who can bear children, have two children every three years, and have many big, strong sons.”
“Why did an abandoned baby suddenly appear? Maybe Yi Zhong Hai is involved. He just found an excuse to divorce.”
“His wife can't give birth, but he refuses to adopt a child. What are his intentions?”
“You know, it does make you think.”
…
As more and more neighbors spread gossip, Yi Zhong Hai's reputation took a hit.
It would sooner or later reach the factory.
After all, Yi Zhong Hai still held some status in the factory.
Yi Zhong Hai's decision to remain single after the divorce for a while was wise.
The First Aunt's inability to have children had been known for several years, but Yi Zhong Hai didn't divorce. Was this true love? He was willing to remain childless! This was admirable, of course, but some people also whispered that Yi Zhong Hai was foolish.
But refusing to adopt a child despite being childless was a bit strange.
As for Yi Zhong Hai hoping that his apprentice, Jia Dong Xu, would take care of him in his old age, that wouldn't prevent him from adopting a child.
Adopting a child would provide another layer of protection.
Besides, no matter how good Jia Dong Xu was, he wasn't an Yi, and his children wouldn't be given the Yi surname.
But if he adopted a child, the child would bear the Yi surname.
Therefore, Yi Zhong Hai's willingness to divorce rather than adopt a child was somewhat peculiar.
So, was it possible that Yi Zhong Hai had wanted to divorce all along, but he was a man who cared about reputation and face?
But if Yi Zhong Hai divorced and didn't remarry for a long time, people's perception of him would be different.
…
Zheng Ai Min sighed. As a time traveler, he didn't have a system.
He also didn't have a magical space with a spiritual spring.
In other words, he wasn't a cheater.
In this era of hunger, without cheating, even getting enough to eat was difficult!
For now, he had a place to stay at the Old Lady's.
But Zheng Da Ma was currently unemployed.
Without a job, she had no income.
They had some money now, but they couldn't just live off their savings.
The Deaf Old Lady, on the other hand, was supported by the street committee, receiving rice, noodles, cooking oil, and money every month.
Zheng Da Ma wasn't greedy for the Old Lady's support.
With this kind of starting point, what else could Zheng Ai Min say?
Even Bang Geng was in a better position than him.
Even though Jia Dong Xu had died and Qin Huairu got a job in the factory, Bang Geng still had it better than him.
The key was that Zheng Ai Min was still an infant, unable to do anything.
He would have to rely on his adoptive mother, Zheng Da Ma, for the next few years.
He wouldn't be able to do anything until he was a few years old.
But even in the current environment, it would be difficult to make any progress.
Set a small goal: eat enough every day.
Don't worry about fine grains or coarse grains, just being able to eat enough in this era would put him ahead of most people.
Usually, people would only eat fine grains and meat on special occasions.
As for eating fish and meat, white bread, and having unlimited access to food, even the factory director wouldn't have that kind of luxury.
Currently, Zheng Ai Min mainly drank rice porridge.
He would only occasionally get a change of taste thanks to Qin Huairu, envying Bang Geng who had a nutritious diet every day.
Time flew by, and it was noon.
Sha Zhu was seen carrying a lunchbox back to the courtyard.
Usually, Sha Zhu wouldn't return to the courtyard at noon, he would bring some leftover food home from the factory after work.
Today, not only did Sha Zhu return to the courtyard at noon, but he also brought some leftover food from the factory for Zheng Da Ma.
It was called leftover food, but it was all thanks to Sha Zhu's cooking skills!
Otherwise, how could the factory canteen have leftover food? They would run out.
There were several canteens in the factory. Sha Zhu was in the First Canteen, but he wasn't the head chef yet.
Sha Zhu was also unlucky. Last year, He Da Qing ran away, and He Yu Shui cried so much that Sha Zhu took his sister to Baocheng to find He Da Qing. They found the White Widow's house but were turned away at the door, unable to even see He Da Qing. They were left out in the cold outside the White Widow's house for a night, and He Yu Shui caught a cold and ran a high fever. Sha Zhu hated his father for this.
It was also because Sha Zhu went to Baocheng that he missed the factory's evaluation.
Therefore, Sha Zhu was still just a small cook in the First Canteen, not a master chef.
But Sha Zhu was a good cook. Whenever the factory had guests, Sha Zhu was the one who did the cooking.
As a result, Sha Zhu would take some leftover food from the factory every day, and everyone turned a blind eye.
Even if anyone wanted to target Sha Zhu, they wouldn't use his taking leftover food from the factory as an excuse.
It was an unwritten rule for cooks to take some leftover food.
Everyone in the factory's canteens took some leftover food.
Zheng Da Ma was having a hard time now, so Sha Zhu wanted to help.
Bringing some leftover food from the factory to Zheng Da Ma every day greatly improved her situation.
Zheng Da Ma didn't refuse Sha Zhu's kindness.
Sha Zhu even wanted Zheng Da Ma and Yi Zhong Hai to reconcile.
But both Zheng Da Ma and Yi Zhong Hai had no intention of getting back together.
Zheng Ai Min couldn't eat the leftover food Sha Zhu brought back.
Zheng Da Ma didn't eat it either. Instead, she took it to the Jia family to exchange it for some of Qin Huairu's…
Due to taking care of Zheng Ai Min, Zheng Da Ma's care for the Deaf Old Lady was less than before. This caused the Old Lady some displeasure.